Page 72 of Roman & Olivia
She pressed her lips together and her cheeks colored furiously, but she didn’t speak.
“You could do so much better than him. He’s never going to leave her for you. Not when his daddy’s reputation might get tarnished.” That stole Mason’s attention.
“What do you want, Roman?” Mason sneered.
Roman crossed his arms. “I want you to break things off with her.”
The woman gasped.
“Olivia,” Roman clarified and was moderately disappointed to note Mason’s date relaxing at the request.
Mason scoffed. “Not going to happen.”
This time, Roman reached for his phone and wagged it in front of Mason’s face. “Careful. I have the sort of evidence that could do quite a bit of damage to not only your reputation but also your father’s by proxy. What do you think? How much would that journalist pay for a few pictures of you with someone who isn’t Olivia?”
The look of rage that flickered on Mason’s face might have been enjoyable if it wasn’t Roman’s best friend who would be hurting from this betrayal.
“I get it,” Roman said, putting his phone back in his pocket. “It’s a hard decision. Tell you what. I’ll give you a couple of days. If by Friday next week you’re still stringing Olivia along, I’ll go to that journalist and tell them everything I know.” He shrugged. “Heck, you might get lucky and there’ll be something more interesting to report on.” Then he grinned. “But honestly? When was the last time something really exciting happened in Copper Creek?” With that, he turned on his heel and headed for the door.
He caught sight of Marcus tossing a few bills on the table to pay for the drinks they’d ordered before he got to his feet and hustled after him.
As he reached the entrance of the restaurant, Roman couldn’t help but notice the shift in the air. He felt… lighter.
Olivia wasn’t going to be happy, but like Sophia had said, it was best for her to know. And Roman would be there for her, whether to pick up the pieces as her friend or to be something more.
28
Olivia
“Ithought you were going out with your boyfriend tonight,” Cammi drawled, peeking over at Olivia from where she stood in the kitchen.
Olivia didn’t bother looking up from her book. “He had a work thing.”
“That’s weird. Doesn’t he make sure to give you his evenings?”
“He used to,” Olivia muttered under her breath, then shrugged. Maybe she should be more upset about Mason putting distance between them.
But she wasn’t.
This was one of many red flags in her relationship. She was getting to the point where she wasn’t sure she even wanted to continue with whatever it was they were doing.
“Olivia?”
She tore her eyes from her book and glanced at her roommate. “What?”
“You okay?”
Olivia shrugged again. “I’m fine.”
The pointed look her friend gave her didn’t appear to have a single drop of belief. Cammi knew her well enough to see that Olivia wasn’t happy. Technically, she wasn’t upset, either.
Okay, she was upset, but not about Mason. She was upset about the hole that had opened up in her chest. It had created a chasm that was far too large for anything to fill it. This hole had a blackness to it that seemed to suck the life out of Olivia, whether she liked it or not.
And it definitely didn’t have a single thing to do with Mason.
“You’re not okay, Liv.”
Olivia attempted to hide the flinch at Roman’s nickname for her. It was hard to hear it when she missed him so much that it hurt her very soul.
